Wind fingers fondled the golden savanna grass as pup voices of giddy joy bubbled from the hyena den. Shimbekh gamboled out, with her sister Kambra close behind. They rolled in the friendly grass, sparring and wrestling in a flurry of high spirits. Their muti (mom) looked out of the burrow, a tolerant smile on her kindly face. "You know it's time for your nap."

"Aw, Muti! Can't we play just a little while longer?" Shimbekh asked. She put on her best long face.

"Don't show me those Gazelle eyes, young lady! I know all the tricks. And don't go plotting something with that sister of yours. I can't hear your thoughts, but I’d know that look anywhere."

"What look?" Kambra thought.

"I don't know," Shimbekh thought back.

"Do you think she can really tell?"

"Let's see." Shimbekh looked at her muti right in the eyes and concentrated.

"Oh no you don't!" her muti said with a laugh. "I know when you're up to something, and you’re up to something! Guilty thoughts left their tracks all over your face!"

She seized Shimbekh by the scruff of the neck and hauled her into the den. Kambra followed dutifully. There would be no reprieve from nap time.

Life for the hyena pups was as warm and soft as the fur on their muti’s side. Muti would keep them clean and well fed, and Maleh (Dad) would tell them wonderful stories of midnight hunts under the silver moon. Giddy games melted into quiet naps, and always the love and care of their parents hovered around them like a warm hug. In those days, there was food enough for everyone, and each new day was an exciting step on the trail to adulthood.

Nature was their companion on the trail, working wonderful miracles that the jaded call “growing up,” a term that falls far short of the mystery and beauty of life unfolding. Very soon, too fast for their okash (mother), they had outgrown the den and spent their days in rough and tumble games. The naps soon ended, at least the enforced ones. Short puppy legs began to grow at an alarming rate. Shimbekh teased Kambra about her sticklike legs, heedless of the changes that were sweeping her own body.